This article is about how the great white shark population has gone up in some beaches lately. It also refers to why and how this is happening. Lastly it talks about how we are also not being too friendly ourselves to the shark population.

   In the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts there has been a significant increase in the great white population. There have been reports about people spotting great whites too close to the shore. In 2014 researchers found about 80 great white sharks in the Cape Cod area. Now they have found 147 great whites in the Cape Cod area. The sharks are growing in population because now that the government has worked hard to protect gray seals, more sharks are attracted to wherever they are. Seals sometimes like to get close to the shore and that means that great whites are drawn closer to the shore as well. But are we being fair to the sharks? We think of sharks as mean horrible monsters like the one depicted in the movie “Jaws”. The truth is that there is more of a chance of you getting struck by lightning, than being attacked by a shark. However, we are a huge predator for sharks. People who go shark fishing might only cut off the fins of the shark, and then throw it back into the water. This happens a lot in Asian countries especially, because they make something called shark fin soup. Fishermen do this because they can sell the fins for a lot of money. Now people are working against those fishermen, to protect sharks.

My connection was that one time when I went to Galveston, Texas, I found a little flash light looking thing. Turns out that there was a phone number and an email address on the back of it. So later we tried to contact the people who must have lost it, and it was actually a research team from a college doing work on white-tipped sharks. We had found one of their tags that they put on a shark. They were so thankful that we found it for them, and the even gave me a T-shirt about what they were doing!

As Hurricane Harvey approached southern Texas many humans seeked shelter, but they weren’t the only ones who needed to get to safety. Many animals are seeking shelter too. The first major animals are gators. Since gators don’t do well in cold rainy weather they need to get to warmer areas. Many people spot 3-5 ft. alligators with some even up to 8 feet. Also, there is over hundreds of thousands of alligators so spotting them is very common. Also, alligators are the last thing people want to see after dealing with a hurricane. The article also talks about how to deal with alligators. It talks about being safe  by calling an alligator service to pick them up. The next animals are snakes. In texas there are over 23 species of snakes that can swim, so many snakes are swimming to locations populated with many humans and since some of them are venomous it poses a threat to humans. Many officials say to leave them alone, but many people ignore that warning by attacking them or posing as threats. The third animal is fire ants. Now you might be wondering how fire ants can be dangerous to humans, but they need to relocate inland because their swarms are getting destroyed. The reason these tiny creatures are so dangerous is they can form together to build rafts and float around to save themselves. Since they are so dangerous to humans with their painful bites we need to be mindful of other creatures. So, the best thing to do is keep your distance from the fire ants. The article also talks about other animals that can’t swim who could drown, and other animals who will try to live in garages and attics to avoid being killed or injured. All in all, the article talks about how humans weren’t the only ones getting affected by the hurricane, but other living organisms are also in danger.

Finally, my connection to the article is I have two friends who live in Texas. They were in the area where it got affected a little bit, so thankfully they didn't get affected too much. They were telling me about how all the stores were empty of food and supplies.

All in all, the article is about how animals are getting affected majorly by Hurricane Harvey. It also talks about how humans are helping them by capturing them and setting them free in areas with a sparse population.

         First things first,  one of the reptiles that have been forced to seek higher ground is alligators.  There are hundreds maybe even thousands of alligators alone in Texas.  Although alligators like the water the floods have displaced them and now alligators are being seen in front yards, driveways, parking lots, etc. In the article it is telling texans to stay away from the alligators as much as possible.  The problem is that texans want to take pictures with the animals which is not safe for them obviously.  

        Moving on, Snakes are being displaced as well.  Texas is home to about 23 species of snakes.  They can live in the water but they majority want to live on dry land.  Many of these Snakes have been seen on buildings and trees trying not to be pulled by the flooding and to stay dry.  Texas is saying that only a few snakes are venomous so most snake bites will not hurt you as long as you do not harass,kill, or hurt them.  

         Next, Texas also has Fire ants.  The problem with fire ants is that they are making hills with each other.  This is making it very dangerous for people because just one already causes a lot of stinging and with this many ants making these hills it can cause sever pain.  It is recommended that you stay very very far from the ants.

          Finally, What about the other wildlife?  The deer in Texas are having trouble finding food because they would eat grass and now that is buried under water.  Texases major concern is the mexican free tailed bats. The Mexican Free Tailed bats are already endangered and the hurricane just made things worse for these bats.  

          This article was very informative.  I never really thought about the nature when I thought about the hurricane.  I mainly thought of the people that have been forced out of their homes.  Now I think about both of them.   I hope that the flooding will soon stop so that the animals, bugs, reptiles, etc. can go back to where they belong and want to be.